DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's soccer team moves into Mid-American Conference play this weekend as the Huskies host Toledo on Thursday, Sept. 23, before traveling to Bowling Green on Sunday, Sept. 26. Kickoff against the Rockets in Thursday's league opener is slated for 5 p.m. 

Thursday's contest is NIU's Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer games, supporting the Go4theGoal Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization that provides supportive services to children with cancer and their families. Both teams will be wearing gold shoelaces and you can donate here today.

NIU begins league play with a 3-5 record following a 2-0 setback last Friday (Sept. 17) at South Dakota State, who has lost just once in its last 27 games. Sadie McGill (Fort Worth, Texas/North Texas) made her seventh consecutive start in goal against the Jackrabbits, recording seven saves. McGill ranks second in the MAC in saves per game, averaging 6.14 stops per contest. 

Haley Hoppe (Austin, Texas/Rouse) leads the Huskies with six goals, second-most in the MAC. Claudia Muessig (Paw Paw, Mich./Paw Paw) has added a pair of goals while Amanda Czerniak (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North), Kierah Meier (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) and Julia Neary (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) have each scored a goal during the non-conference campaign. 

The Rockets enter league play with a 5-1-2 overall record after defeating Illinois State, 1-0 in overtime, in their last non-conference contest on Sept. 19. Olivia Dault leads Toledo in scoring with three goals while Emma Boutorwick has seen the majority of the action in goal, posting a 0.35 goals against average with a .909 save percentage. During last season's spring campaign, the Huskies and Rockets split a pair of matches, with both teams winning on the road. 

Bowling Green will also open MAC play on Thursday as it travels to Western Michigan before hosting the Huskies on Sunday. The Falcons begin their league slate with a 1-4-2 overall record, Nikki Cox has eight points to lead the way in that category while Madi Wolfbauer and Lacee Bethea each have scored three goals. Lili Berg has started all seven games in goal for Bowling Green, posting a 1.88 goals against average and a .717 save percentage. 

With the MAC regular season confined to divisional play last spring, Sunday's meeting will be the first between the Huskies and Falcons since 2019. 

Following the opening weekend of conference play, the Huskies will have another split weekend next week as they travel to Central Michigan on Thursday, Sept. 30, before hosting Eastern Michigan on Sunday, Oct. 3.